Goldhagen in der Qualitätspresse : eine Debatte über "Kollektivschuld" und "Nationalcharakter" der Deutschen

Notes that the debate over Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners" started in Germany less than two weeks after the book appeared in the U.S. (March 1996), and well before it appeared in German translation (August 1996). Summarizes reviews by Christopher Browning and Dieter Pohl, and all the articles and reviews that appeared in four leading newspapers between April-October 1996. Detects a change around August, when the German edition appeared, followed by Goldhagen's tour of Germany, where he spoke before large and sympathetic audiences: from disparagement of the work and disqualification of its author because, as an American Jew and son of a Holocaust survivor, he was assumed to be prejudiced - to a more objective analysis and an appreciation of Goldhagen's achievement in reaching a wider public and calling attention to the moral aspects of the Holocaust. Notes that a major cause of hostile German reactions was the mistaken perception that Goldhagen attributed antisemitism to a biological German "national character" and revived the concept of "collective guilt", whereas he was actually concerned with political culture and with the responsibility of the individual. Includes bibliographical references (pages 118-135) and index. 142 pages ; 21 cm.